When a New House Finally Starts to Feel Like Home | Finding Joy, Healing & Gratitude in the Middle of Change

Hey Roomies!

Can we talk about something a little deeper today?

It has been a few months since Alexa and I moved into our new house, and when I look around, I can finally see it happening.

The boxes are disappearing. Furniture is finding its place. Rooms that once felt unfamiliar are beginning to have personalities. The living room is coming together, the piano room is finding its rhythm, the guest bedrooms are becoming welcoming little retreats, and even the loft is starting to feel like it belongs to us.

In other words...

We're getting there.

But here's the funny thing about life: sometimes everything around you can look like it's falling into place while your heart is still trying to catch up.

And lately, I've found myself asking a question I wasn't expecting:

Why am I still sad?

Today's video is about the house, yes—but it's also about moving, life transitions, creating a meaningful home, friendship, healing, and learning to appreciate how far you've come before rushing toward whatever is next.

Watch the full video here: Our New House Is Finally Feeling Like Home | Rooms By Roma

A New House Doesn't Become Home Overnight

When we first moved, I knew this house had potential.

And you know me...

Give me potential and a tape measure, and I'm already mentally moving walls, rearranging furniture, selecting fabrics, and wondering where a fabulous light fixture needs to go.

But I've also tried to be very intentional about this house.

I didn't want to rush into filling every empty corner simply because it was empty.

I wanted to live here.

I wanted Alexa to settle in.

I wanted to understand how we actually use each room before deciding what that room needed to become.

That's one of my biggest pieces of interior design advice for anyone moving into a new home: give your house time to introduce itself to you.

You don't have to design everything immediately.

Sometimes you need to live in a space before you understand what it needs.

Shopping My Own Home... Again!

One of the most exciting parts of this entire process has been taking furniture and décor from our previous home and using them completely differently here.

Roomies, I will say this forever:

Before you shop the stores, shop your house.

A chair that belonged in one room for years may suddenly look fabulous somewhere else.

Move the artwork.

Switch the lamps.

Change the accessories.

Turn the rug.

Restyle the table.

Experiment!

Good home decorating and interior styling aren't always about buying something new. Sometimes they're about developing the ability to see something old with fresh eyes.

And that's exactly what I've been doing.

The result?

Our belongings are familiar, but this house doesn't feel like a copy of our previous home.

It feels new.

It feels different.

Most importantly...

It's beginning to feel like us.

Welcome to the Soft Launch

Recently, some of my closest friends came to stay, and I jokingly started calling it the soft launch of the house.

Because apparently my home now has product launches.

But roomies...

Something happened when they arrived that I wasn't expecting.

Before they came, I was noticing everything that wasn't finished.

That room still needed something.

That wall wasn't done.

This needed to move.

That needed to be styled.

There were projects waiting.

Decisions waiting.

Things that weren't quite "Roma" yet.

And then the door opened.

My friends walked inside.

There were hugs.

There was laughter.

There were conversations.

Suddenly...

I stopped noticing what wasn't finished.

The House Didn't Need to Be Perfect

That moment reminded me of something I tell my clients all the time—but apparently needed to remind myself.

A beautiful home isn't about perfection.

It's about connection.

My friends didn't care whether every room was finished.

They weren't inspecting my furniture placement.

Nobody walked through the front door carrying a clipboard to critique the accessories.

They came to see me.

And suddenly, the house felt different.

It felt warm.

It felt alive.

It felt like home.

Sometimes we're so busy trying to create the perfect space that we forget the entire reason we're creating it.

For people to live there.

To gather there.

To laugh there.

To love there.

But Why Am I Still Sad?

That's the question I've been sitting with.

We've moved.

We're settled.

The house is becoming beautiful.

Alexa is finding her place here.

My work continues.

Rooms By Roma continues growing.

There is so much to be grateful for.

So why can sadness still sneak in?

I think sometimes we assume that making the right decision means we aren't allowed to miss what came before it.

But two things can be true.

You can be excited about where you're going...

And still miss where you've been.

You can love your new home...

And still remember the life that happened in your old one.

You can feel grateful...

And still have difficult days.

Moving isn't simply changing addresses.

Especially after a home has held years of family, laughter, traditions, growth, love, and loss.

Your furniture can arrive in one afternoon.

Your heart sometimes takes a little longer.

Our Homes Carry Our Stories

This is one of the reasons I've always believed interior design is about much more than decorating.

Our homes become containers for our memories.

The dining table remembers family dinners.

The kitchen remembers conversations.

The hallway remembers little feet running through it.

The bedroom remembers the nights we cried and the mornings we decided to keep going.

The photographs remember people.

The artwork remembers trips.

The objects we collect remind us of chapters of our lives.

That's why I don't believe your home should look like someone else's Pinterest board.

Your home should tell your story.

And when your story changes, your home should have permission to change with you.

Sometimes Your People Bring You Back to Yourself

Having my friends here reminded me how important it is to surround yourself with people who allow you to simply be.

Not perform.

Not accomplish.

Not finish another project.

Just...

Be.

There will always be another room to design.

Another email to answer.

Another project to finish.

Another goal waiting around the corner.

But there won't always be another Saturday night with the exact same people sitting around your table.

Those moments deserve our attention too.

Maybe even more.

Stop and Look at How Far You've Come

I think we're all guilty of moving the finish line.

We accomplish something and immediately ask:

"Okay... what's next?"

We finish one room and start looking at another.

We solve one problem and immediately focus on the next.

We reach a goal and barely celebrate before creating another one.

But every once in a while...

Turn around.

Look behind you.

Look at everything you've survived.

Look at everything you've built.

Look at the person you've become.

Maybe you aren't finished.

Maybe everything isn't perfect.

But darling...

Look how far you've come.

Designing a Home That Supports Your Life

When I'm working with clients through Rooms By Roma, this is what I ultimately want to create.

Not simply a beautiful living room.

Not simply the perfect kitchen.

Not simply fabulous wallpaper.

I want to create a home that supports the life happening inside it.

A home where you can breathe.

A home where people want to stay.

A home where your children feel safe.

A home where friends can kick off their shoes and laugh until midnight.

A home that can hold both celebrations and difficult days.

That's what intentional interior design means to me.

Beauty matters.

Function matters.

Quality matters.

But feeling matters too.

Maybe "Finished" Isn't the Goal

I'm beginning to wonder whether our homes are ever truly finished.

Because we're never truly finished.

Life changes.

Our children grow.

Our tastes evolve.

Our needs change.

We lose people.

We meet new people.

We travel.

We collect memories.

We begin again.

And our homes evolve right alongside us.

Maybe that's exactly how it's supposed to be.

Final Thoughts From Roma

Roomies, if you're going through your own transition right now—moving, grieving, starting over, redesigning your home, changing careers, watching your children grow, or simply trying to figure out what comes next—I hope you'll give yourself a little grace.

You don't have to have everything figured out today.

Your home doesn't need to be perfect.

Neither do you.

Invite the friends over anyway.

Use the good glasses.

Put flowers on the table.

Play the music.

Order the food if you don't feel like cooking.

Sit around the table a little longer.

Let people see the unfinished rooms.

Because eventually you realize...

Those people are what you were designing the rooms for in the first place.

This new house is still becoming our home.

And maybe I'm still becoming the version of myself who's supposed to live in it.

Both can take time.

Both deserve patience.

And both can still be beautiful while they're unfinished.

Thank you for continuing to walk through this journey with Alexa and me—from saying goodbye to our previous home to watching this new one slowly fill with new memories.

There's still plenty to design.

Plenty to rearrange.

And knowing me...

Probably plenty to move around again after I decide I don't like where I put it the first time.

But that's the fun of creating a home.

We're not designing a photograph.

We're designing a life.

Come inside the new house and watch the full video:
Watch the Rooms By Roma House Update on YouTube

And if you're ready to create a home that feels beautiful, personal, functional, and authentically you, discover more interior design inspiration and Rooms By Roma design services at Rooms By Roma.

Thank you for being here, roomies.

And as always...

I look forward to creating with you.